Toil And Trouble
by Ethercookie
Summary: Marie, having trouble at school, gives Kitty a spellbook for her birthday. The ensuing humor, drama, and romance set the stage for a typical month at the Institute.
1. The Gift

**TOIL AND TROUBLE**

  
  


A Story Of School, Love, Rebellion, Spells, & (Of Course) Friendship  
by  
ETHERCOOKIE

  
  


_Characters not my own, quite obviously. Plot is my own. Thanks for not snitching. And reviews are always greedily welcomed._

  
  


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  
  
_Marie's Diary - August 31_  
  
It's been an uneventful summer so far. Oh - god, listen to me. What a boring way to start a diary entry. Let me rephrase. It's been as dull as boring as hell around here, and as of today, things get even worse. I'm not sure whether to be happy something is _finally_ happening, or to take a break in writing to go lose my lunch. This morning, at breakfast, Storm pulled me aside before I could even sit down at the table. I thought it was something about my attitude. Between the heat, Kitty's drama-queen routines, and the fact that we never do _anything_ around here anymore, I guess I've been kind of grumpy lately. Logan called me a "sourpuss." Ha. Ha. Ha. Anyway, while I watched Kitty hog the last good cereal, Storm quietly informed me that she and Professor X. have "made a decision about my future in the Institute, and we hope it works out best for everyone," and blah blah blah. For a moment there I thought I was getting kicked out or something. Kitty and Kurt stopped eating just to listen in, little sneaks. Then Storm told me that she and the Professor had decided that _I should teach a self-defense class this semester._  
  
No, I'm not making this up.  
  
How I wish I was.  
  
Apparently, Logan (backstabber) has been watching me train every day. You know, I took up some karate and whatnot, just to keep myself from dying from boredom around this prison complex. Logan told Storm that I have "natural talent" - thanks bunches, pal. Storm, being the busybody that she is, decided that _I_ should be the one to teach the new self-defense class the Institute is holding this semester. _Me._ _Marie._ Teaching?! After I got over the initial shock, I refused. Loudly. Storm had to take me into another room - I made sure to give Logan the dirtiest look I could manage as we left. He just winked. Bastard. Once we were in private, Storm rambled on and on and on about what a great opportunity this was, how I could make new friends, how a whole lot of first-years would be glad to have someone their age for an instructor, how it was for the good of the school, how I would be helping everyone defend themselves against danger, and so on and so on and so on. A bunch of typical adult bull. One, I do not need to make new friends, thanks very much. Two, I do not intend to spend every Wednesday afternoon from four to six teaching a bunch of girly-girls and bratty boys how to lunge punch. What do they need defending from, anyway, around here? I told Storm no. No way. Not over my dead and broken body.  
  
Yeah.  
  
Well.  
  
To make a long story short, I am now the youngest teacher at the Institute. I start in a week.   
  
I hate myself for buckling in so easily.  
  
And Logan! Well, he's never getting a friendly greeting from _this_ girl again.   
  
I'm surrounded by busybodies.  
  
In other news, Kitty turns seventeen tomorrow. She's having a big birthday party. I managed to get a dentist's appointment tomorrow. Lucky me. I really don't feel like a lot of pink balloons and frosted rosebud cakes and ten thousand verses of "Happy Birthday To Kitty." I don't want to play spin-the-bottle, and I don't want to watch a truckload of silly new releases. Really. I don't. I'm much happier getting my teeth cleaned. But, seeing as Kitty is my roommate and everything, I felt kind of bad not getting her a present. So I went to amazon.com and fiddled around and I found this great book. Thirty percent off and everything. _Spells And Hexes Every Witch Should Know._ I know Kitty isn't really into witchcraft. She'd probably have liked a Bobbi Brown book or a chick flick soundtrack. But that's what I bought her, and if she doesn't use it, I can always borrow it for myself. Evil laughter.  
  
It's getting late - I hear Kitty skipping up the stairs. More later.  
  


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  
  
Marie looked up from her bed. Her side of the room was dark and shadowy, thanks to the tightly drawn drapes. The only light came from the dim, blue glow of the lava lamp on her dresser. Marie put down her novel. "Shut the door behind you."  
  
Kitty, cheeks flushed, obediently pushed the door closed. "Wow." She flopped down on her bed. "That was, like, maybe the best birthday party I've ever had."  
  
"Glad to hear it." Marie went back to her book. _The Fuck-Up_.  
  
"You totally should have come." Kitty looked over at her roommate. "I mean, like, even you would have enjoyed it. I promise. It was just fabulous."  
  
"Wow." Marie turned the page. She was wearing her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, with a streak of dark lipstick and black plaid pajama pants. "Great."  
  
"Everyone came."  
  
"Mm-hm."  
  
Kitty went back to the bed and began putting away her presents, in silence. Marie watched her out of the corners of her eyes. A pink sweater. A handful of charm bracelets. A lilac hoodie with Hello Kitty on the front. Five or six CDs. A flower pendant. Lipgloss. Pink capris. Marie watched as Kitty carefully folded her last present, a scarf with a pale pink border, into her dresser drawer and then turned around. She caught Marie looking at her.  
  
"So," said Kitty, brightly, "how did you dentist appointment go?"  
  
Marie looked at her, surprised and a little suspicious. "What? Why?"   
  
"Like, I'm just asking. Don't get so defensive."   
  
"It went OK," Marie said, softening her tone a little. "Ah mean, Ah just got them cleaned."   
  
"Let's see," Kitty said.   
  
Reluctantly, Marie opened her mouth, displaying a row of white teeth against her purple lips. Then she snapped her mouth shut, looking a little sheepish. "Satisfied?"   
  
"Pretty," Kitty approved. She was wearing a faint dab of blush and a coat of purple eyeshadow, in honor of the occasion. "But you always had a great smile, Marie. I mean, like, when you want to show it."   
  
Marie put her book down. "OK, Kitty. What is this all about?"   
  
"Um . . ." Kitty couldn't keep a secret to save her life. She was transparent as crystal, carrying her secrets around with her like a sandwich board. Now she blushed and looked down at the floor. "Like, it sounds stupid. But when you weren't at the party and all - like, it's just, Storm asked me to like - be nice to you or whatever."   
  
Marie bristled. "Be nice to me? Like Ah'm some kind of dangerous snake or something?"   
  
"No! No! It's just, like - they're worried about you. Or whatever." Kitty seemed a little nervous and embarrassed. "I mean, Storm said you were - like - smoking."   
  
"Hmph." Marie shrugged and went back to her book.   
  
Kitty waited a moment. At last she couldn't stand the curiosity anymore. She cleared her throat. "So. Like, are you?"   
  
"Am Ah what?" Marie asked calmly.   
  
"Smoking."   
  
Marie set her book down with a sigh. "Yes, when Ah'm not raping babies and clubbing seals for fur. God, Kitty. Don't sound so serious. This is smoking we're talking about. Nicotine and Virginia Slims. Not murder or sex or something. You're seventeen now. Act it."   
  
Kitty considered this. "So you are."   
  
Marie just looked at her.   
  
"Funny. Like, I always figured you'd be a Camel girl, not Virginia Slims."   
  
A smile tugged at the corner of Marie's mouth in spite of herself. "Pall Malls, actually."   
  
Kitty sat down on the edge of her bed. "But, like, why? I mean, it's know not as bad as a lot of other things you could be doing. But - like - it's _dangerous_."  
  
"So's getting in the car and driving to school."   
  
"You know what I mean, Marie. Don't, like, play around." Kitty drew her knees up to her chest. "Storm said you smoked because you felt unhappy here."   
  
"What does she know about mah motives?" Marie grumbled. "Besides, it's just like one or two a day. Ah'm not addicted yet."   
  
"_Yet_?"   
  
"Well, look. In two more months Ah'll be eighteen, Ah won't even have to lie to buy them. Then it will be totally mah concern and none of you will have to worry over it." Marie sighed. "Tell that to Miss Storm."   
  
"Like, we're just concerned, Marie. I mean, that's totally why they gave you the teaching job. To, like, give you a focus and something to _do_."  
  
"And to feel good about mahself and to make new friends and blah blah blah. Well, Ah appreciate it, but all Ah really need to be happy is to be left alone." Marie scowled across the room. "Tell that to Storm, too."   
  
"Look, like, I'm sorry I brought it up. I mean, to be honest, I guess I think they're overreacting too. It's not like you're a little kid or something. Like, you can totally make your own choices now." Kitty got up. "I'm sorry for everything."   
  
"Wasn't your fault," Marie said, gruffly.   
  
Kitty looked down at her roommate, feeling a little awkward. "Well," she said after a moment, "aren't you, like, gonna wish me a happy birthday before I go to bed?"   
  
"Oh. Speaking of that-" Looking sheepish, keeping her face hidden, Marie got up and opened her sock drawer. When she turned around, she was holding a hastily wrapped present, flat and rectangular, with a red bow on the top and no nametag. "Ah - Ah bought this for you, you know, because Ah thought it might hurt your feelings if Ah didn't. Here. Happy birthday." Marie thrust the package awkwardly at Kitty, who took it, her eyes lighting up.   
  
"Wow, Marie. Like, I totally didn't expect it." Making a mental note of Rogue's upcoming birthday, Kitty tore the balloon paper off the present and stared at it, face blank. It was a large heavy book, with a glossy cover and an image of a cauldron and a broomstick. SPELLS AND HEXES EVERY WITCH SHOULD KNOW. For a moment she didn't say anything at all.   
  
Marie, palms sweaty in spite of herself, cleared her throat. "Ah know you probably won't like it, you don't have to keep it if you don't want it. Just hide it somewhere or use it as scrap paper or something. Ah won't mind if you-"  
  
But Marie was cut off by a sudden squeal from Kitty. Before she knew what was happening, the other girl has tossed the present onto her bed and then launched herself at Marie. "Oh, my god!" Kitty shrieked, hugging Marie tightly. "This is, like, totally the coolest present I've gotten all year! How did you know I wanted it? Thank you, thank you, thank you! Like, wow!"   
  
Marie was in a state of mild shock. After a moment, her body caught up with her mind and she gingerly hugged Kitty back. "Oh - well - Ah'm glad you like it -" she managed to say. And found, to her surprise, that she _was_ glad.  
  
Kitty released the blushing Marie and swept back down on the book. "Like, I had no idea you knew I wanted to get into witchcraft, Marie. This is so cool! I always thought you'd, like, make fun of me or something. And now this - totally awesome." Kitty opened the book and began flipping eagerly through the pages. "Oh, wow - love potions - curses - this is excellent -"  
  
Marie wasn't sure what to say next, so she picked her book back up and continued reading.   
  
There was silence for several minutes.   
  
"Hey, Marie?"   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"Could you help me with some of these? Like, if you have time and all."   
  
"Sure," Marie agreed, barely believing her luck. "If Ah have time."   
  
"Thanks." Kitty beamed. "I just found a fabulous spell to get someone to call you."   
  
"Wow." This wasn't exactly what Marie had been thinking of, but it was Kitty's book now.   
  
"Oh, and Marie?"   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"I'm, like, the first student enrolled in your class. And Kurt, too."   
  
Marie wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. She settled on a kind of dry smile. "Ah look forwards to it."   
  
"So do I," Kitty chirped, and leaned back against her pillow with her new spellbook.   
  
Within an hour, both girls were fast asleep, open pages still in their hands.   
  



	2. Teacher's Pet

**TOIL AND TROUBLE:  
  
CHAPTER 2: TEACHER'S PET**

  
  


A Story Of School, Love, Rebellion, Spells, & (Of Course) Friendship  
by  
ETHERCOOKIE

  
  


_Characters not my own, quite obviously. Plot is my own. Thanks for not snitching. And reviews are always greedily welcomed._

  
  


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  
  
_Marie's Diary - September 7_  
  
I am currently in a state of panic. OK? OK. Thank god I got that out. I've been hiding it all week. On Monday night, I was sweaty and had butterflies in my stomach. On Tuesday night, I couldn't sleep. Not a wink, as the Professor would say. I just paced around and kept Kitty up, and when I realized I was keeping her up I went into the bathroom and just practiced all the moves I know, over and over and over again, like a maniac in a nightgown at one in the morning, watching myself in the mirrors. Damn. Damn. Now it's just an hour away from my first class, and I think I'm gonna go vomit. Be back in a second.   
  
OK. Back. I didn't vomit, I guess because I didn't eat breakfast this morning. I hope I don't faint or something. I hate Storm for dragging me into this. I hate Logan for being so sneaky and setting me up for it. Damn them all.  
  
Yeah.  
  
That just sounded kind of silly.  
  
OK, I have to relax. It won't be so bad. If I can't do it, then I won't have to. We agreed on that. We all agreed on that. We shook hands over it. Storm told me last night that I currently have ten students in my class. Ten. God. I can hardly handle civil conversation with one. How can I handle teaching ten kids my age? How can I do it? Sure, it's just self-defense, but still. I mean, in a weird way, karate is kind of personal. I hope I don't have to actually touch them a whole lot. I hope they learn well from watching.  
  
What am I going to wear?  
  
I guess just loose pants and a t-shirt. I don't have a uniform or anything. Have to pull my hair back. I hate that. Kitty told me she bought a special outfit just for my class. Two dollars says it's pink, stretchy, and from the Gap. With 'FLIRT' across the ass or something silly like that. Kitty is kind of friendlier to me since I gave her that spellbook, but she can't break her addiction to expensive pink stuff you usually find on Barbie dolls. Oh, yeah, and Kurt is in my class. Excellent. I can only imagine what kind of tricks he'll pull.  
  
Storm told me to ask Logan for advice on teaching. I think she was kind of being ironic. I mean, he's not exactly the most caring and loving teacher I know. In fact, he's kind of brusque and to-the-point in all his classes. Actually - you know - she may have a point. Logan doesn't have kids flocking to him for lollipops, but he's never had an unruly class yet. I may have to try that method. I can't imagine myself smiling and playing the Name Game.  
  
Ouch. One hour and forty-five minutes.  
  
If I don't eat I may pass out.  
  
What I need is a cigarette.  
  
If Storm smells me smoking this, I'll be in hot water. Damn. I try smoking straight into a fan, but I think they suspect. What am I saying - I _know_ they suspect. Kitty came right out and told me on her birthday. They're all worried, she said. Worried over a Pall Mall. I know it's unhealthy and all to smoke, but I can't help it. I found one of Logan's lying around about a month ago and I just felt like trying it. I mean, I'm seventeen. And then it just calmed me down so much I kind of started buying my own. Luckily, the cashier at the E-Z Mart never even asks my age. I could get away with anything there. What a jerk.  
  
I should stop, though.  
  
I will.  
  
But right after this class . . .   
  


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  
  
Marie, dressed in a pair of loose black pants and her favourite Nine Inch Nails concert shirt, walked down the hall towards the gym, the space she'd been assigned for her class. She had her hair pulled back in a tight, bouncy ponytail, which she hated. To compensate, she'd put on extra dark eyeshadow, and a new shade of purple lipstick. Her students just better not mess with her. Clutching a water bottle in one hand and an attendance sheet in the other, Marie turned the corner and let her eyes flick up to the clock on the wall. Fifteen minutes until her class started. Marie wasn't sure whether or not she'd still be a functioning human being by the time four o'clock rolled around.  
  
Marie, unaccustomed to wearing sneakers instead of boots, stumbled over one of her laces. "Damn!" she hissed, kneeling down to tie it. Her face burned. "This is the stupidest thing Ah've ever done - if Ah could take it all back Ah would -"  
  
"Havin' trouble, kid?"  
  
Startled, Marie looked up. It was Logan, lounging against a nearby doorframe with a soda in his hand, watching Marie amusedly. She flushed angrily. "Where did you come from? You can't just pop out from behind doors like that. You scared me to death." Angrily, feeling chagrined, Marie bent her head over her shoe and concentrated on tying unusually tight, firm double knots.  
  
Logan came to stand above her. Marie smelled his faint cigarette-and-oil scent. "Hey, I didn't mean to frighten you," he said, sounding apologetic. "You just look a little tense, that's all. What's wrong, halfpint?"  
  
"Mah lace came untied," Marie mumbled, with as much dignity as she could manage.  
  
"You're not in your fishnets today," Logan observed, and then his eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh. Right. Class at four."  
  
"And it's all your fault." Standing up, Marie drew herself to her full height. She felt a little foolish in her baggy clothes and bouncy hair. She could tell Logan was finding her a little bit comical. "Ah'll never forgive you. Ah hate this whole mess."  
  
"Well, you could have refused," Logan pointed out, logically. Marie fumed silently. "And all I said was that you're a damn good fighter. That's all. I still hold to it, and I never made anyone put you in charge of a class." Logan smirked a little. "To be honest -"  
  
"Ah know, Ah'll make a horrible teacher and everybody can laugh at me, poor little troubled Marie," Marie spat. She paused, a little disconcerted. Her words had come out angrier than she'd meant them to be. Still, she continued. She couldn't help it. "Ah know all Ah am is the kid everyone pities, the girl with no friends who needs to recognize her potential. Ah've heard it all. This class is just another gag to try and make stupid, antisocial Marie into a happy, well-adjusted member of society. Well-" Marie flung out in a sudden fit of rage - "I'll be damned if that happens!"  
  
There was a long moment of silence.  
  
"Wow." Logan, seeming uncomfortable, scratched at his neck. "Wow, kid. I had no idea you felt that way."  
  
"Well-" Marie wasn't sure what to say. "Well, Ah do."  
  
Logan studied her, his eyes mixed with surprise and - could it be? - understanding. He seemed to be thinking deeply about something. Marie was suddenly aware of how close Logan was, even though he was a oood arm's length away. The cigarette smell grew stronger. Marie, blushing now for no real reason, felt her heart speed up beneath her t-shirt pocket. She focused on the ground and tried not to notice the muscles in Logan's arms. She wasn't sure why this was something she needed to ignore. She'd never had to before.  
  
Logan sighed after what seemed a million years, breaking the silence. He shifted. "Well. I don't know what to say, halfpint. If I had known you felt this way, I would have - I could have -" Logan stopped, awkward. Marie wasn't sure she could think of a single thing to say to him. "Listen, kid. Do you wanna come to see me this evenin'? Just to talk things over, I mean," he hastened to add, as though he'd thought Marie would take it a different way. "Thing is, I kinda understand what you're goin' throough, so . . . " he trailed off.   
  
"Um. OK," Marie agreed, still not looking Logan in the face. "How about seven?"  
  
"Sounds good."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"The kitchen, maybe?"  
  
"OK."  
  
"Well. Good luck with the class. Knock yourself out. Knock _them_ out." Logan looked at the clock again. "Better get going." He walked past her, patting her shoulder as he went. Marie stiffened slightly. "See you later."  
  
"Yeah," Marie managed to say, and then, on impulse, turned around. "Logan?"  
  
He turned.  
  
"Got a light?"  
  
Logan didn't say anything. Just turned around and kept walking. Feeling a little crushed, and extremely confused, Marie looked up at the clock. Ten minutes till four. Slowly, feet dragging, Marie picked her water bottle up off the floor and continued towards the gym.  
  


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  
  
Marie, hoping her sweaty palms and trembling knees didn't show, nervously patted at her ponytail and surveyed the ten students standing obediently in front of her. No - make that eleven. A new one popped up at the last moment. There was Kitty, of course, in a light blue outfit that looked more suitable for running track or going to work out with a bunch of bulimic housewives. Kurt, looking annoyingly amused. Bobby, who probably just came because everyone else prodded him to do it. And Jubilee, with her smooth dark hair and willowy body. The other seven were strangers to Marie - first-years, she supposed. A blonde girl with too much lipstick, a tall, gangly boy, a girl with braces and glasses, a girl with a sullen pout of her face, a redheaded boy who was shorter than anyone else, a black-haired girl with a pentagram pendant, and a boy who looked half asleep.  
  
Marie took a deep breath. "Did everyone bring a water bottle?"  
  
The blonde timidly raised her hand.  
  
"Well, next time you really need to. Believe me. You're gonna begging for it at the end of class."   
  
The blonde girl shrugged and whispered something to the girl with glasses, who giggled. Marie felt her face flush uncomfortably. She wished Kitty and Kurt and Bobby and Jubilee weren't here - it just made things even more embarassing and complicated.  
  
Marie raised her voice. "All right! This is a self-defense class. What we're learning here is how to defend ourselves." Well, _duh_, Marie. There was a snicker. Marie continued. "Ah expect you all to pay attention to me, because otherwise - you - uh - really can't learn anything at all. And no fooling around. We're gonna begin with a few excercises, just to get ourselves relaxed and loosened up. So - just get into a position that feels comfortable -"  
  
There were several snickers this time. Marie, face hot, fought the temptation to run out of the room in tears. This was going to be a long class . . .   
  


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  
  
"Marie! Hey, Marie! Like, wait up!"  
  
Marie grudgingly stopped. Usually she would just ignore Kitty, but Kitty had actually proven to be a lifesaver in the class. When the other students saw her obediently following Marie's instructions, it calmed them down. A little bit.  
  
Kitty, dressed in a pink camisole and jeans with freshly towel-dried hair, ran up beside Marie, a little breathless. "So. I think that went, like, really well. Don't you?"  
  
"Ah guess. Nobody died." Marie continued walking. She had changed back into her usual outfit as well - dark skirt, see-through lace, green turtleneck, big boots. Her hair was loose around her face again. "Ah just hope half of them drop out before next Wednesday."  
  
"Well, like, I don't think they will. The Professor doesn't, you know, encourage dropping classes." Kitty fingered an earring. "So. Marie."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I was, like, wondering - you know how you said you'd like help me with those spells?"  
  
"Yeah . . . "  
  
"Is tonight, like, good for you?"  
  
Marie was silent, thinking fast. Tonight wasn't good, but only because of Logan. Marie didn't really feel like telling Kitty that she was going to have a heart-to-heart with Logan. Somehow, she had a feeling Kitty might make this into something more than what it was. Marie scanned her mind for a good excuse. "Um . . . "  
  
"Oh. It's not?"  
  
"Well - Ah mean - Ah am a little busy - maybe tomorrow, after school?" Marie suggested.  
  
"Yeah, OK." But Kitty seemed a little crestfallen. After a moment, she asked, "So, like, what are you doing? Homework or whatever?"  
  
"Sort of."  
  
Kitty's interest was piqued. "Seriously. Are you, like, going on a date?"  
  
"No," Marie snapped. "It's just homework, like you said."  
  
"Oh, like, _sure_," Kitty drawled, sounding unsually annoying to Marie. She winked. "Who is it?"  
  
"Kitty!" Marie stopped dead in her tracks, gritting her teeth. "If you don't mind, Ah've had a kinda hard day here. Ah just want to relax and study in peace. Please?"  
  
Kitty shrugged. "Whatever. Like, it doesn't bother me." She went off down the hallway in the direction of their room. "See you tomorrow! Like, don't forget!" she called.  
  
"Ah won't," Marie said grudgingly.  
  
"Oh, and Marie."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Have _fun_." Kitty tittered and dashed off, ponytail bouncing.  
  
Marie fought down the urge to yell something rude back at her. Sometimes, that girl - Marie took a deep breath. She had to learn to relax. Slowly, trying to be calm, Marie continued down towards the kitchen. 


End file.
